Roding, Beam & Ingrebourne Catchment

Catchment partnership vision

The Roding, Beam & Ingrebourne (RBI) Catchment Partnership recognises the importance of our rivers and waterbodies and the need for their sustainable management. By 2027, it is aimed that the RBI catchment will meet the objectives of river basin planning and achieve Good Ecological Potential. This will involve providing naturally functioning ecosystems that support diverse and thriving wildlife. This will aid the catchment to become a destination of choice for recreation and leisure, valued by local communities. By 2027 the catchment will be free from pollution and Invasive Non-Native species and have a reduced siltation problem. This will have been achieved through implementing an effective Catchment Based Approach that will result in strong partnerships between communities, businesses, landowners and managers. Through realising this vision the RBI should be viewed as an exemplar catchment that has achieved on the ground improvements.

Related websites

Find out more about the activities and ambitions of this catchment partnership and how you can get involved to help improve the water environment in the catchment.

Catchment challenges

Current challenges identified by partnership

  • Pollution from towns, cities and transport

    Densely populated lower catchment

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Diffuse agricultural pollution from a rural upper catchment

  • Physical modifications

    Rivers straightened and culverted in many places

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Connecting communities with nature

    Communities are largely unaware of the challenges their local river faces

  • Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents

    Storm overflows and drainage incidents are frequently impacting water quality within the urban catchment

  • Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity

    Land must be set aside within the river corridor to address the biodiversity crisis

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    Climate change poses increased risk of flooding, pollution and drought

  • Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy

    The Catchment Partnership can play an important role in influencing the Local Nature Recovery Strategy

  • Removing plastics/litter from the water environment

    Plastic pollution is an expansive problem in the catchment, impacting wildlife and preventing people from enjoying their blue spaces

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Pollution from waste water

    Densely populated lower catchment with frequent waste water pollution events

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Intensively farmed upper catchment leading to large scale diffuse pollution and sediment run off

  • Pollution from towns, cities and transport

    Heavily urbanised lower catchment, with a number of roads identified as significant sources of road run-off pollution

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport
  • Pollution from waste water

Emerging challenges

  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
  • Pollution from waste water
  • Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

The RBI catchment partnership has seen an increase in the level of collaborative working and discussion between partners throughout the last WFD cycle. Within the River Roding catchment, local stakeholders and community groups have been engaged through citizen science water quality surveys and a programme of Outfall Safari walkovers. Physical work along the River Roding and Seven Kings Water catchment also includes rubbish clearance, the incorporation of in-channel features and the clearing of invasive Himalayan Balsam. Within the River Ingrebourne catchment at Pages Wood, partnership working between The Land of the Fanns project and five other partner groups has resulted in improvements being made to the floodplain habitat, with a number of wetland scrapes and ponds excavated. The Land of the Fanns project has also led to collaborative working between a number of partners in the river Rom/Beam catchment, where work has been completed to restore the river and wetlands within Grenfell Park whilst engaging local community groups. A partnership project within Ingrebourne Marshes SSSI has been working to utilise volunteer groups to restore the natural fenland habitat features.

Partnership development plans

There will be a focus on increasing the membership of the partnership and engaging groups from a wider sector, including landowners and farmers from the catchments rural areas. An updated, more dynamic governance structure will facilitate greater engagement of partners. New ways of working will be trialled which include smaller, targeted working groups and site-based partnership meetings. A wider selection of projects will be developed in preparation for funding.

Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027

  • Confident

    Enhancement/no deterioration measures in 2020-2025 Water Industry National Environment Programme

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage point source discharges
    Delivery mechanism
    Confirmed water industry national environment programme 2020-2025
    Location
    Roding Beam and Ingrebourne

  • Confident

    Seven Kings Water catchment restoration through Hainault Forest and Seven Kings Park

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    Seven Kings Water

  • Confident

    Essex Wildlife Trust project to eradicate mink within the Essex catchments

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage invasive non-native species
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Roding Beam and Ingrebourne

  • Confident

    Deculverting Seven Kings Water through Westwood Recreation Ground

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Seven Kings Water

  • Confident

    Romford Town Centre Improvement Project including habitat improvements to the River Rom

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Developer funded
    Location
    Rom (Bourne Brook to Ravensbourne)

  • Confident

    Habitat improvements to the lower Rom through The Chase LNR

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Rom (Bourne Brook to Ravensbourne)

  • Less certain

    Deculverting Gores Brook through Parsloes Park

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Funding sources need identifying
    Location
    Gores Brook

  • Less certain

    Increase fish and eel passage across priority weir and barrier structures

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Delivery partners and funding sources need identifying
    Location
    Roding Beam and Ingrebourne

  • Less certain

    Yellow Fish Project at Ingrebourne Valley Visitor Centre

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage point source discharges
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Project needs developing and funding sources need identifying
    Location
    Ingrebourne

  • Less certain

    Wanstead Park lake improvements, wetland creation and habitat improvements to the neighbouring River Roding

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Funding sources need identifying
    Location
    Lower Roding (Loughton to Thames)

  • Less certain

    Restoration of Gores Brook through Goresbrook Park

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Funding sources need securing
    Location
    Gores Brook

  • Less certain

    Engage farmers in the upper Roding catchment to reduce diffuse pollution sources

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Funding sources need securing
    Location
    Upper Roding (to Cripsey Brook)

  • Wider water environment

    Creation of a linear riverside park following the Roding between Barking and Ilford

    Reason for measure
    Connecting communities with nature
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Lower Roding (Loughton to Thames)

  • Wider water environment

    The Thames and Tributaries Plasticblitz

    Reason for measure
    Removing plastics/litter from the water environment
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Roding Beam and Ingrebourne

Catchment Partnership contributors

Partners involved in the creation of this page and the actions of the partnership: